Cladding of components, especially medical examination devices such as computer tomography devices or magnetic resonance devices for example, or also for radiation therapy devices, in addition to improving the external appearance of said devices, also frequently serves to attenuate sound externally which is produced by the component during operation and which, without sound deadening or attenuation, can be perceived by a person located in the vicinity of the component as unpleasant noise. In a magnetic resonance device for example noise typically arises from interaction between a main field magnet and the gradient coils used for local encoding. With computer tomography devices and radiation therapy devices, noise can be generated for example during rotation of parts of the devices during an examination or treatment.
The noise arising will be transmitted directly or indirectly e.g. via the air surrounding the component, to cladding of the component, which also causes said cladding to vibrate, and thus passes on the noise and/or in its turn creates further noise.
Known cladding of just such medical examination devices is generally simply made from fiber-reinforced plastics, which thus possess a high mass and are therefore heavy, inherently rigid and not easy to handle. Although such cladding provides an attenuating mass to counter vibrations, it still directs noise unimpeded into the cladding.
Furthermore cladding is known which is also made of pure fiber-reinforced plastic and is additionally provided on the side facing the component with a sound-deadening layer made of foam. Thermoplastic cladding parts also exist which are manufactured using the single-sheet or twin-sheet method and sections of which are also provided with sound-deadening foam. Although this improves its vibration-damping properties, mass and thereby weight of the cladding continue to be impractical.